西弗勒斯·斯内普

西弗勒斯·斯内普 Opinion Article

The Dumbledore-Severus relationship. Was it really trust?

Throughout the entire Harry Potter series it is 说 that Severus Snape is loyal to Dumbledore, but is Severus truly loyal to him? And does Dumbledore deserve that loyalty.

I know a number of Potter 粉丝 that will agree when I say that, even with all of his flaws, Severus Snape is a substantially loyal character. He remains loyal to Lily Evans-Potter, long after she dismisses him as a friend, and long after she has declared her 爱情 for another. He remains loyal to Albus Dumbledore despite the danger he willingly puts him through , seemingly without caring for the outcome. It does take some serious 心 to remain loyal to people, even though they hurt you. The 问题 I pose is simply this; Is Severus Snape truly loyal to Albus Dumbledore, and If he is, does Dumbledore himself deserve that loyalty? We see evidence in book 4 that Dumbledore has kept Severus out of severe amounts of trouble with the Ministry and Azkaban. If I was in his situation, I would be very grateful for someone who kept me out of such a horrid place. That, I believe, is THE element that fuels Snape’s loyalty to Dumbledore, other wise I don’t see where Severus is loyal to Dumbledore, I only see him as loyal to Lily. In the Deathly Hallows (pg 740) Harry states that “Snape was never your’s, he was Dumbledore’s.” but in that same statement (pg 740) Harry says, “ Snape loved my mother nearly all his life” This creates a contradictory statement. Was Snape Dumbledore’s 或者 was he through and through Lily’s? Harry also states (pg 741) That “Snape was Dumbledore’s spy from the moment 你 threatened her, and had been ever since.” If anything this 答案 my question, If the Dark Lord hadn’t threatened Lily, and Harry, had he chosen to go after Neville instead, Severus would have never changed sides, he would not have hesitated as Voldemort struck down Neville and his parents, so he would never have been the man we know him as today. I cannot deny however, the fact that Severus was loyal to Dumbledore, to some extent. He responded very differently to Dumbledore then he did to others. He wasn’t rude, nor sarcastic, nor bitingly cruel to Dumbledore as he seemed to be to many others. He allowed Dumbledore to see a side of him that was not often seen, and goes far enough to defend him against his fellow Death Eaters. Another 问题 I pose, is if Dumbledore deserves that kind of loyalty from him. As I’ve stated above, it is evident that Dumbledore got Snape out of a lot of trouble, but is that enough for everything he did serving Dumbledore. As Severus states in the Prince’s tale (pg 687) “ I have spied for you, lied for you, put myself in mortal danger for you, and for what?” For what indeed. It seems to me that Dumbledore knew what he was asking Severus to do. He knew that 由 the end of the war, he could potentially be dead, yet he didn’t 显示 any remorse for the fact, at least that I detected, so aside from putting him in mortal danger, and keeping him out of a prison that he could have avoided (like many of his fellows) what did Albus Dumbledore do to deserve that kind of undying loyalty? I don’t he did much of anything, but that’s only the opinion of one diehard fan. I’m sure that many others could find ways to heavily contradict me, but as for my opinion, 你 have it. Severus Snape was loyal to Lily Potter, and the loyalty he gave to Albus Dumbledore was far from being deserved.

4 comments

For sure, their relationship is ambiguous, made up of filial respect from Severus and mentor-like fondness from Dumbledore, as well as manipulation and interest.

Dumbledore is probably a father figure for Severus, the closest thing he ever had as a father - pretty much like for Harry. Severus is most likely a son to Dumbledore, the son he never had.

My theory - and it's just that, a theory - is that Dumbledore secured Severus' loyalty through an Unbreakable Vow. I often use that theory in my own fanfic writing. I could imagine such a Vow taking place between them two, with maybe Aberforth - the ever silent brother - being their Binder.

I consider Dumbledore being pretty much of a Slytherin, but honestly, when confronted to a Slytherin like Voldemort, you need to be as cunning and determined as him to bring him down. You have to fight evil on the same terms, with the same weapons. And what better weapon than another Slytherin - Severus this time.

"Sometimes we sort too soon..." While Severus could have been in Gryffindor, I think that Dumbledore could have been sent to Slytherin. He has all the qualities of that great House.

Yes, Dumbledore used Severus, for the Greater Good, some would say. I felt sometimes that he did so probably thinking that it would redeem the former Death-Eater Severus was in the past, redeem him from his past errors. Dumbledore is maybe less forgiving than it might look like at first sight.

Just my thoughts about the topic raised by your article.

Poor Severus... Like I say, he was a Slytherin that worked like a Ravenclaw, loved like a Hufflepuff and died like a Gryffindor.

It's been nearly 2 years since I've read the series, but by The Prince's Tale, I felt that their relationship was respectful and pragmatic.

I do think that Snape's actions were driven by his love for Lily, and were it not for her death and the subsequent need to protect Harry, he wouldn't have switched sides. In fact, it kind of troubled me that he didn't seem to be overly upset by Voldemort's quest for building a wizarding world based on blood purity.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I believed he still would have switched sides. After all, as a muggle-born witch, Lily still would have been in grave danger. Even though she shunned him, I still think Snape would have done as much as he could to protect her.

In the Deathly Hallows (pg 740) Harry states that “Snape was never your’s, he was Dumbledore’s.” but in that same statement (pg 740) Harry says, “ Snape loved my mother nearly all his life” This creates a contradictory statement.

"Snape was never yours, he was Dumbledore's"--All this statement means is that Severus had been working for Albus Dumbledore for all those years, not Tom Riddle.

"Snape loved my mother nearly all his life"--All this means is that he had extraordinarily deep feelings for another human being.

I don't see a contradiction.

@jester: I also believe that Severus would have switched sides eventually, just as soon as Lily was threatened.

The evidence that Snape was loyal to Dumbledore and committed to the destruction of Voldemort lays with the fact that he followed through with Dumbledore's plans after he was informed that Harry had to die. If his main loyalties had been with Lily, then he would have refused to go through with Dumbledore's request as Dumbledore's plan required that they lead Harry to his death. Protecting Harry for Lily was what Snape's purpose had been all that time, it was why he agreed to continue helping the order and to stay on in Hogwarts. However, when push came to shove his loyalty towards Dumbledore won over that of his for Lily.

As to Dumbledore deserving Snape's loyalty? No, I don't think he deserved it. In the same way that there was evidence through the books that Snape showed more deference and consideration towards Dumbledore than to anyone else the opposite can be said about Dumbledore's interactions with Snape.